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256In Search of Sweet Liquid Gold

June 27, 2013

Boiling maple sap to turn into syrup. The supply of this product is heavily regulated by the global strategic reserve (Photo: Ury/Corbis)

Many countries create cartels to control the price of important commodities because they want to maximize their income or protect key domestic industries. But the use of cartels is criticized for causing higher prices for consumers. We investigate the pros and cons of cartels through the example of the maple syrup industry.